By Lisa Watts
The racial and ethnic disparities in financial security in later life are a continuing story and reflect lifelong disadvantages, according to a new report.
Single older adults of color are the least financially secure of all older Americans, according to a recent Elder Index report from the Gerontology Institute at UMass Boston. Among those who live alone, 67% of Latino older adults and 61% of Black older adults have incomes below the Elder Index, compared to 43% of older adults who are single and white.
The Elder Index measures the costs of basic needs for people aged 65 and older across the U.S. The index accounts for whether these individuals live in one- or two-person households, if they rent or own their home (with or without a mortgage), and their health status. Overall, the 2022 Elder Index results suggest that 12 million older adults in the U.S. struggle to make ends meet.
The racial and ethnic disparities in financial security in later life are a continuing story and reflect lifelong disadvantages, says Jan Mutchler, director of the Gerontology Institute.
“Early in life, patterns of structural disadvantage can lead to poorer access to higher education and raise the likelihood of holding low-wage or unstable jobs with fewer benefits,” says Mutchler, who produces the Elder Index. “Cumulatively, the effect of these and other life-course experiences shaped by inequity raise the risk that older people of color will live with little wealth and meager or no pension income.”
Learn more at the Gerontology Institute Blog.